On the Art of Picking A Professor

Just a few days ago I was in a meeting with my wonderful adviser, Meg. She said that I can start enrolling in classes starting in April. That got me thinking about what classes I was going to take, and what professors I needed to do some research on.

The best website I have ever found is www.ratemyprofessor.com It has information based on what school you are from, and also by professor. Its easiest if you find your school, and then search for your professor through your school. If you search just for your professor, you could end up with several professors from different schools with the same name. 

The reason I like this website so much is because of my (awful) World Religion teacher that I had during the summer semester of 2012. I was looking forward to taking World Religion, it sounds interesting right? Everyone I have told this story to always says, "World Religion sounds interesting!" It was NOT interesting. It was more of a "lets see how many different languages I can teach you to understand in three months" class. All of the content of the exams was definitions of words in other languages. In other words: "what does this word mean?" I felt like I was in a foreign language class. I did not learn anything about other religions. I still couldn't tell you what I learned from that class. 

But then there is my COMM 201, and COMM 305 professors. They were both VERY engaged in the lectures, helpful in the exams, willing to stop the lecture in order to answer my questions. The exams consisted of relatively easy material. I had to study, but I felt that the studying I did was enough for the content of the exams. I didn't feel like I was studying things that didn't need to be studied. My COMM 201 professor, Mary, is my adviser now also. She is so awesome! =)

My point is, there is going to be an awful professor sometime in your college life. But if you can avoid them, it will make your life easier, and college more enjoyable. So use this website, and make your own decisions. This Spring semester (2013) is the first time I have used www.ratemyprofessor.com. I picked my Sociology professor through this website, and he is INCREDIBLE! I love him to death! I also picked my Biology professor. Here is where it gets hard. My biology professor had a medium rating. I went ahead and took him because I needed to take biology, and his ratings weren't too terribly bad. The first day of class he said so many things that made me think, "My gosh this guy is a jerk." But after going to class several times, I realized that he really does care about his students. He comes across as a jerk because he is tired of people who don't care about college, and because he is very straightforward. I know I am that way sometimes. I tend to come across as a rude person, when I really am not! Use your discretion in deciding whether to take a professor or not. Sometimes, you won't have a choice. Other than this website, ask around. People in your school are gonna know at least one or two professors to take or not take. Make friends, and get their opinion also. There are so many options, but always try to make a well-informed decision about your professors!